James Wolanin, Again

After the debacle that was Super Thursday I was down. Art sucked. I considered giving up on art and switching to mowing lawns or digging ditches or something so physical that after a day of work I'd be too tired even to think. I could do that until the day I died and end up in a cheap casket with my callused hands piously clasped over my broken heart. Sounds inviting, doesn't it?

But I wasn't allowed this rest. Jim Wolanin invited me to a show at Three B Gallery in which he'd be showing. My first reaction was that I wouldn't go. I'd seen Jim's paintings three separate times and I felt that I'd shown my support for his art career enough for a while. So unless Jim was willing to sleep with me -- and I'm going to take a flyer here and assume he wasn't -- I saw no reason to go.

Then Tracy Helgeson chimed in and said that she'd be there and wanted to meet me. I still considered not going; but finally Steven LaRose wrote to me saying that Tracy was expecting to see me there. Okay, fine, drag me out into Manhattan on a Saturday night.

I barely had time to see the show or any of the work in it; by the time I arrived, they were kicking everyone out so they could rearrange the art and hold the after-party. I thought it very smart of the organizers to do this; hopefully it would avoid any more art destruction moments like the one in D.C. last season.

I did see a couple of things I'll mention because I liked them. I have no photos, though. Jeff Faerber had some really good looking work. And this other artist whose name I didn't get (my camera phone is too low resolution for me to read the thing I took a photo of) had a couple of neat things: First was a life-sized cut-out, like you might see at the front of a music store -- although not of this kind of activity -- of the artist fucking a woman from behind. Where the woman's face would've been was an oval cut-out so you could stick your face through and have your photo taken, like an attraction at a theme park. Kind of obvious but it made me laugh anyway, probably because of the gleeful look on the artist's face. Second was an action figure, in the clamshell bubble, of the artist himself. Clearly he wants to be Jeff Koons when he grows up, and more power to him. If I remember correctly he went by me with a pretty girl under each arm, so he's on his way.

Of course I did meet Tracy and her husband Doug and, again, Jim. I fell in love with Doug and Tracy pretty much immediately.

After being kicked out we went to the Mexican place Jim recommended and had some good food and some good talk. Jim describes the night pretty well; an argument over a chair broke out at the table behind us, unfortunate epithets were hurled, a little sad homophobia was revealed, and then everything calmed back down. Your typical night in one of the more vibrant neighborhoods in New York City. Jim is right when he says San Loco is not much to look at but the food is good. And, yes, I did lose my car, but not for too long.

To add some narcissism to the account, though -- something Jim would never do, even though it was his show -- I told the three of them about Secret Project #2, which seemed well-received, and I showed them a sample I've been working on for Secret Project #1.

So, holding on to this wonderful thing I've been carting around with me for weeks trying to imbue it with a scintilla of the beauty I intend for it, Tracy asks, "What about your drawings?"

"Yeah, I like the drawings," chimes in Jim.

I don't know if they meant this in the tone of "Um, this new stuff is crap. Why don't you go back to your previous crap?" or "You're wasting your time trying to be original; your drawings, while derivative, are much better." Or maybe they were just being nice. No matter how exactly they meant it -- and, seriously, I believe they sincerely like my drawings and think I should do more (and I agree) -- I appreciated hearing it. Particularly from Jim, who doesn't talk much, so when he does, it means something.

I only wish I could've stayed out longer. Thank you, Tracy, Doug, and Jim, for making it a good night. And an extra thanks to Doug for paying for dinner.